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Ketchikan: Charitable raffles and lotteries bill introduced - Not-for-profit organizations will be able to promote charitable raffles and lotteries by way of radio or television broadcasting under legislation recently introduced by Representative Kyle Johansen (R-Ketchikan).

Under current law only newspapers are allowed to advertise legal charitable raffles and lotteries. "While this bill levels the playing field for Alaska's broadcasters, the intent of this legislation is to assist not-for-profit organizations in their efforts to raise money to better serve our communities," Johansen said.

Ketchikan's own Pennock Island Challenge for Diabetes ran afoul of the state law this past summer in an attempt to spread the word about their charitable event. Gretchen Klein, one of the organizers for the Pennock Island Challenge said, "This was a grass roots effort run by an all-volunteer force who only sought to make the public more aware of diabetes. KTKN really helped us out in this effort, and the fact that they could have gotten in serious trouble for assisting the American Diabetes Association was just devastating. We hope this legislation passes so nonprofit organizations and broadcasters can serve their communities without fearing legal troubles." - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

National: Keeping sex offenders off social networking sites By NOELENE CLARK - Legislation that would let social networking Web sites screen for convicted sex offenders has elicited concern from critics who say it's unfair and won't work.

Bill proponents say it would provide a tool to track and prosecute sexual predators. Critics argue it wouldn't do enough to protect children and would result in curtailed civil liberties and unnecessary humiliation for the least-dangerous offenders.

The legislation - identical versions were introduced in the House and Senate last week - would require sex offenders to register their e-mail and instant-message addresses with the government. The Justice Department would make the information available to social networking sites.

MySpace.com, one of the largest of these social sites, said it will block membership for convicted sex offenders. Two other social sites, Facebook and Friendster, said they would follow suit.

The legislation would also make it a crime for anyone over 18 to misrepresent his or her age with the intent to use the Internet to engage in criminal sexual conduct with a minor - an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison, said Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who co-sponsored the House bill.

"Sexual predators have no business joining social networking communities, especially those used by teenagers," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who introduced the Senate version of the bill with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

Out of Line Mariah Pennington wearing "Wood, Wire & Fire" designed by David Walker. Pennington participated in the 2007 Wearable Art Show, Out of Line. Front Page Photo by Aimee Shull

Ketchikan: UAS Ketchikan Students Make Chancellor's and Dean's Lists - The following University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan campus students have made the Chancellor's and Dean's list for the fall Semester of 2006.

Elena James made the fall 2006 Chancellor's list. To be eligible for the Chancellor's list, a student must be degree seeking, earn a 4.00 grade point average and complete at least 12 credit hours during the semester.

Richard Boyd, Victoria Bugge, Sarah Cook, Danielle Grams, Roseanna Green, Sarah Gutowski, Diane Hack, Elizabeth Johannsen, Barbara Johnston, Emily Nelson, and Phoenix Redhawk made the fall 2006 Dean's list. A student must be degree seeking, earn a 3.5 grade point average and complete at least 12 credit hours during the semester to make the Dean's list. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

Alaska: Priest convinced crosses shown on site were stolen from church By MEGAN HOLLAND - A priest didn't expect to see his processional cross again after it was stolen from his church in the middle of the night more than two weeks ago.

Then the Rev. Bob Young of Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Eagle River, Alaska, was directed to a MySpace.com Web page. On the site, a bare-chested teenager posed with a handgun among drifting marijuana bongs. In his other hand, the youth held a cross that Young instantly recognized. When the priest looked closer, he saw the boy also was wearing a cross necklace he wore while leading Sunday Mass. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

Alaska: Crab research program prepares for egg hatch - It's not even tourist season. Yet sometime in the next couple of months, the population of this small coastal town will surge into the hundreds of thousands. But few people will notice. There's plenty of room for all.

The arrivals will be newborn red and blue king crab larvae, each only about the size of a finely sharpened pencil tip. In all, more than one million king crabs are expected to hatch at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Seward Marine Center in the coming weeks. The hatch will mark an important milestone in efforts aimed at one day rebuilding wild king crab stocks around Kodiak and the Pribilof Islands.

"We feel like expectant parents," said Brian Allee, director of Alaska Sea Grant and manager of the Alaska King Crab Research and Rehabilitation Program. The program was launched in 2006 at the urging of coastal communities and fishermen from Kodiak and the Pribilof Islands.

"These newly hatched crab will help us understand what is needed to succeed in large-scale hatchery restoration of red and blue king crab stocks in parts of Alaska where their numbers are low," said Allee. "In the months ahead, we'll refine our understanding of the food, habitat, and growing needs of these crab."- More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

Alaska: Northern Fur Seal Pup Estimate Declines - An analysis of the 2006 estimate of northern fur seal pups and counts of adult males in the Pribilof Islands of Alaska recently completed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries researchers found an an approximately nine percent decrease in the number of pups born between 2004 and 2006. The pup estimate decreased most sharply on Saint Paul Island. Saint George Island showed a small increase over 2004, though it still registered a decrease of three percent from the 2002 estimate.

In contrast, the total number of adult males counted in the Pribilof Islands increased about four percent since 2005.

"We have a very long, scientific record of the population of northern fur seals on the Pribilof Islands," said Dr. Doug DeMaster, Director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. "Adult male counts began in 1909 and pup counts were initiated in 1912. At that time, the northern fur seal population was rebounding at a healthy eight percent per year, following the cessation of extensive pelagic sealing." - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

Quilting in the Rain XVI QUILTERS SHOW OFF EXTRAORDINARY ART AT THEIR ANNUAL QUILTING IN THE RAIN QUILT SHOW. THIS QUILT IS THE 2007 RAFFLE QUILT.

Ketchikan: The Arts This Week - This week in Ketchikan the Quilting in the Rain XVI Quilt Show will be held at the Plaza February, 10 and 11, 2007. Rainy Day Quilters' present their annual quilt show featuring new and antique quilts, big and small quilts, fancy and plain quilts as well. This year's show will be dedicated to the memory of Sandy DeCorcey. Saturday, Feb. 10, 10am-8pm, and Sunday, Feb. 11 12pm-4pm. Raffles will take place and fun will be had by all.

Sweet Second Saturdays dance and dessert will have a special Valentine's Day twist on Saturday, February 10. Roger Nelson will lead a special night of waltz, waltz, waltz for you and that special someone. Also, calling all crooners to strut your stuff that night. Love is in the air and those special songs are wanted for this special dance. Sheet music and donations are greatly appreciated. Sponsored by Squares and Contras, for more info call the Arts Council at 225-2211.

Local author Captain William M. Hopkins will speak and sign his new book "Wrangell Narrows, Alaska" at 6:30pm on Monday, Feb. 12, 2007. For more information call 225-3331. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters Basic Rules Children Without Choices By Carl Webb - Tuesday PM Revised Tongass National Forest draft Management Plan By William E. Brown - Tuesday PM KETCHIKAN BOROUGH FERRY BUS ROUTE By Pete Ellis - Tuesday PM Litter, and Unclean Streets In Some Areas By Carol Baines - Tuesday PM 'Take Off' By Chris Elliott - Tuesday PM Public Beaches Under Threat By Eric Muench - Monday "Take Off" By Karen Pitcher - Monday Trashing of Alaska By Anita Hales - Monday Airport Shuttle Needed By Ken Levy - Monday Very Proud By Veta Mutart - Monday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter MEETINGS The Ketchikan Borough Assembly will hold a regular meeting in the City Council Chambers on Monday, February 5, 2007 at 5:30 pm Download the Agenda & Information Packet (Zip File) Ketchikan Ketchikan Police Report AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Today's Forecast Satellite Today's Weather Images Marine Forecasts Ketchikan Weather Data Current AK Weather Map CLASSIFIEDS Auto-post your ad in the proper category, or email your ad & photos to ads@sitnews.us  CLASSIFIEDS' CATEGORIES Announcements For Sale / Free Stuff Garage Sales Homes / Apts/ Property Pets Wanted Lost & Found Local Services Jan. - Feb. 2007 S M T W T F S 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 More Front Page Archives

Dan K. Thomasson: Can the new Congress finally meet its responsibilities? - Congress has no more important function than controlling the nation's purse strings. That is, of course, when it chooses to fulfill that duty - which recently has been more than a bit haphazard.

Last year it failed to pass nine of the 11 annual money measures relying instead on a string of temporary resolutions to fund the government.

There is only one problem with this, folks. These measures had become incubators for much of the corruption that has marred the Washington political scene the last few years. The resolutions were loaded with so-called "earmarks" - anonymously sponsored - that have costs taxpayers billions and billions of dollars for pet projects like the infamous bridge to nowhere in Ketchikan, Alaska. This distortion of the budgetary process has reached such embarrassing levels that the Democrats, who now control Congress, have pledged to reform it.

How bad is it? During the last 10 years earmarks have increased from 4,126 in 1994 to a spectacular 12,652 last year, setting the stage for any number of abuses still not uncovered and several that have been. One of these resulted in the bribery conviction and jailing of one House member, California Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who was earmarking funds for defense contractors in return for extensive favors. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007  

John Crisp: More diplomacy, not war, in Iran - The scent of war with Iran is in the air. This is surprising, since many experts agree that our military options for Iran lie somewhere between very, very few and nonexistent. Journalist James Fallows, for example, reported in the December 2004 "Atlantic Monthly" on a group of experts and strategists who convened a war game with options for military action against Iran. Their conclusion: Prudent military alternatives for Iran do not exist.

Besides, war ought always to be the last resort. It's available, of course, if diplomacy fails, but creative diplomatic possibilities with Iran are far from exhausted. In fact, Iran is a country that we should to be able to get along with.

True, its current president is given to extreme, inflammatory positions, but we shouldn't allow him to obscure a surprisingly long democratic tradition in Iran that has been characterized at various times and in various degrees by legitimate elections and free speech. President Ahmadinejad's outrageous pronouncements have raised his profile abroad, but they've cost him politically with the moderates at home. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007

Dale McFeatters: Big government, big problems - President Bush's new 2008 federal budget points out that our government is indeed big but not in the way most people think.

Dollar-wise, as a projected cost of $2.9 trillion, it is huge, but most of what it does involves moving money around, mostly from individual income and Social Security taxes, to retirees, the ailing, the disabled and the poor.

The single largest expenditure, at $612.5 billion, is Social Security, followed closely by national defense at $606.5 billion. They are followed, in order, by Medicare, unemployment and welfare, Medicaid and interest on the debt.

The interest on the national debt is projected at $261.3 billion for 2008, almost 10 percent of federal spending. The interest costs are the fasting-rising expenditure because the federal debt is rising, from $5.6 trillion when Bush took office to $8.6 trillion and rising.

After the debt, the size of federal expenditures falls off rapidly. The next-largest category is veterans' benefits at $83.4 billion. - More...
Wednesday AM - February 07, 2007